08/19/08 8:30AM

In 1933, the Civilian Conservation Corps was formed to work on critical conservation-related projects in the U.S.

From 1933 to 1942, 3.5 million men served in the Corps. More than 40,800 worked on projects in Vermont's forests and state parks.

According the Agency of Natural Resources, their work is still visible today. If you've ever hiked a mountain trail in Vermont and used a lean-to, a fireplace, or a picnic shelter you may have experienced their handiwork. You may also have driven on roads they built or used beaches they constructed.

The American landscape was forever changed by the CCC. VPR explores how those changes occurred and how the
Corps’ legacy still resonates in America in the documentary Those CCC Boys. We'll spend time with some of the original members to hear their stories.

And we'll talk with park rangers Laura Cohen of the Price William Forest Park in Virginia and Bob Audretsch at the Grand Canyon about the legacy of the CCC boys and how they transformed much of our natural and hitorical environment.

We'll also speak with historian, Neil M. Maher, Author of Nature's New Deal about the critical thinking that germinated the seeds of an environmental movement that would flourish decades later.

Photos: Courtesy of the National Park Service, National Archives and Records Adminsitration